IRDAI asks insurer to talk to state govts to provide mandatory cover for uninsured vehicles

With almost 57 per cent of the vehicles plying on Indian roads uninsured, IRDAI has asked the general insurers to talk to transport authorities of 28 states and eight union territories to provide mandatory covers for the uninsured vehicles.

The Insurance Information Bureau of India has reported that uninsured vehicles still remain, an area of grave concern in India with 57 per cent vehicles on road being uninsured with 17 states reporting more than 50 per cent uninsured vehicles.

According to Vahan, the tech platform designed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, total vehicles registered till date were 33.68 crore. This means over 19 crore vehicles on Indian roads are not insured.

“Using Vahan and IIB data, the IRDAI has asked us to take up the defaulting cases with the state governments for covering all vehicles,’’ said the CEO of a general insurance company. The IRDAI had earlier developed a scheme, where each insurer has been assigned a state or a union territory that has to be nurtured by the same insurer.

The vehicle insurance issue was discussed in the two-day conclave of industry CEOs and the IRDAI which concluded recently. The regulator has worked out strategies to be implemented by the insurers to achieve full insurability of the nation by 2027 in some segments, including motor.

The new strategy will benefit state governments and general insurers as collecting fines will be a huge source of income for state governments from the defaulting vehicle owners and insurers will get more business from insuring such vehicles.

The new drive is expected to kick off in a month’s time and complete the process by FY2023-24, according to an official source.